Cruising Guide For Croatia and Montenegro?

[Kenomac]

We enjoy being in anchorages 100 percent of the time and going ashore daily for sight seeing, visiting with local people and eating out in restaurants one or twice per week. Our boat is completely self contained, so we don't need to stay in marinas.

[moseriw]

You have two wind systems you should care about.Yugo S-(SW) wind... comes up and takes 3 days to get full strength (so not actually a problem)
BUT if it was strong and dies suddenly you can expect very stron bura (bora) within one hour.

You should reald a lot about bura - SHE is dangerous!

[SaltyMetals]

Ken, i agree w Moseriw. The Bora can be viscious. 30-50Kn which can build in about 30 mins. Does not happen very often but you need a Plan B in case it does.

As regards anchorages, I do the same thing. Very rarely in a marina but you may find that there are laid buoys in many bays (for which they will request a payment) so it takes a bit of searching to find places where you can drop the hook and not be bothered by guys insisting on a payment. I think yr draft is 2.20m so you will hv no problem finding charming anchorages.

PS for "Moseriw":
I see you hv a vagabond. I have sailed very often with an Italian friend on a Vagabond 53. "Pepolo" based in Italy. Sails like a dream. (We previously had an Oyster 53 together which is the model that Ken has). I hv now bought a Jeanneau 43 DS. Often sail solo so this size suits me very well.

[Kenomac]

Thanks for the information. I hope to meet up with you folks sometime next summer.

My wife worries about being hassled by locals wanting money for anchoring in Croatia. It's been so nice in Spain and Italy where that sort of behavior has never happened.

[EmilyClar]

Croatia is so pretty! But I have only seen in from the shore. However, I hope you enjoy your trip!

[SaltyMetals]

Ken, let me tell you a little story which is typical of the small villages that you find in Croatia on the islands.

I was in the ACI Marina in Pomer, nr Pula. I needed to provision the boat for a few weeks but the nearest supermarket was about 10 mins walk into the village. When i got there i asked if they could deliver to the marina but the lady was all on her own, did not finish until 2100 so was not poss. So I decided i would just do a little shopping, as much as i cld comfortably carry, and pick up the rest later at another stop. The lady then said she would offer me her car. So i filled three trolleys full of provisions, delivered to the boat, then returned her car with many thanks. If this happens to you in Pomer then pls give the kind lady my very best regards (and thanks). Told this story to an Oxford Uni friend of mine who is Croatian and eventually became a member of the Croatian Parliament. She wanted me to put it on a Croatian Tourist website.

Local air-dried ham (equivalent to prosciutto) is excellent.

BTW, as far as food is concerned it is best to stock up when you can bec the villages on the small islands may have what they label as a "supermarket" but they are usually v small and do not stock much variety. Plenty of local olive oil and sun-dried figs but how long can you live on that? Occasionally there are boat boys with fresh fruit, veg, etc and will take yr order for bread to be delivered the following morning.
Andrew

PS: Careful when anchoring over rocky seabed. Yr anchor might get stuck.

[athene]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Thanks for the information. I hope to meet up with you folks sometime next summer.

My wife worries about being hassled by locals wanting money for anchoring in Croatia. It's been so nice in Spain and Italy where that sort of behavior has never happened.

You shouldn't have any problems as long as you anchor sensibly. What they don't like - understandably - is when yachts anchor among or close to the buoys in bays where there are mooring concessions. They have to pay the government for the concessions and to install and maintain the buoys, so they don't take kindly to 'freeloaders'.

Whether the government should be awarding these concessions in many of the most popular bays is, of course, another question (but not one for the concessionaires, I'd suggest).

There's a useful website for checking which bays have mooring concessions at http://www.wosamma.at/bojenfelder/map.php, which should save you getting into disputes.

GORDON KNIGHT

[Kenomac]

Many thanks again. We tend to anchor quite far from established mooring areas and marinas along beaches and in coves. Will we be likely approached by local "self appointed" officials requesting daily fees? I've heard the daily garbage fee is a popular scam.

As I understand, Craotia still allows free anchoring.

[athene]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Many thanks again. We tend to anchor quite far from established mooring areas and marinas along beaches and in coves. Will we be likely approached by local "self appointed" officials requesting daily fees? I've heard the daily garbage fee is a popular scam.

As I understand, Craotia still allows free anchoring.

It's very unlikely you'll be approached by 'scammers'; it's never happened to us though there have been a couple of reports. Sometimes a local authority tries to start charging but subsequently gets slapped down by the ministry, and this has happened in a couple of bays. If the anchorage is not listed in the official ministry list of concessions (see the Wiki), then you're within your rights to refuse any attempt at charging.

Perhaps the one exception is if the buoys have been laid by a restaurant, where it's just bad manners to pick one up and then expect a freebee. Otherwise, you're only charged in a proper mooring concession, where buoys normally have to be laid before they can charge.

By and large, we've found Croatia less subject to scams than several other Med countries - it's just that the price of better organisation is higher charges.

GORDON KNIGHT

[Rapanui]

It is easy to get a bad impression of Croatia from the odd isolated gripe about being charged for anchoring, but that is very unfair. As others have said, there are very many good places to anchor for free. In 5 years, I do not believe we experienced bogus concessionaires, but if you suspect that is the case, ask to see their concession licence. 777 does include notes where peopel have reported problems, the main offenders seem to be restaurant owners, but again we have not experienced that. In fact, Croatia seems pretty boat and other crime free at least on the islands, nobody seems to lock boats, tenders or outboards, not something I would try in UK or France.
The Bora can be dangerous mainly because it goes from nothing to full throttle very quickly and I would only anchor in somewhere exposed to that sector (mainly NE but 777 does gives notes on local variations in direction) when the forecast is stable with no hint of trouble. In general, during the summer they are less frequent and less strong. Conversely, the SE Yugo as has been said does tend to gradually increase giving enough time to find a decent spot. The VHF forecasts are good and repeated on line Weather forecast for the Adriatic
as are forecast wind and precipitation DHMZ
You should have a great time

[Polux]

Originally Posted by chuckr

We sailed both 2 years ago and used 777 -- it was brand new and accurate -- the Imray is really old and not very accurate any more - ....
good luck

I agree with that even if I had used both. The Imray is not that much out of date, it is from 2011 and they have on line an actualization from 2014 and I suspect a new revised edition is coming out.

The 777 ports and anchorages is better in what regards anchoring.

Not to miss also the site of that German sailor that has actualized information about the buoy camps. That information is very important to know where one can stay on anchor near a buoy camp or even to know what anchorages were turned in buoy camps. Unfortunately every year there are some that took that transformation.

If you don't like crowded places stay out of middle Croatia. The North and the South is great as well as Montenegro.

[Dr. Sea]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

My wife worries about being hassled by locals wanting money for anchoring in Croatia.

In six weeks of cruising Croatia, we were never approached in this way. However we were approached by the Croatian Coast Guard to see our sailing credentials. Owning your boat doesn't matter--you have to show them a sailing certificate from a sailing authority. They were very pleasant and courteous.

It's hard to avoid the marinas in Dubrovnik, Split, and Trogir, and in a few places like Hvar and Vela Luka you will need to use mooring balls, but we found many places to anchor, even with the typically deep water. BUT, don't avoid the restaurant docks. In many villages we enjoyed free dockage, free water, and free shore power by eating dinner at the restaurant. And the restaurant staff came out and helped with the lazy lines.

[moseriw]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

As regards anchorages
expect about €30/night for a buoy. Anchorage should only be done on sandy plots with some sort of danforth anchors. The common CQR's are a bit of scrap in Croatia. Expect deep stony waters within 30-50 m ashore. As usual do not drop your hook deeper than 8m and give maximum chain.
Against other advices use landlines wherever you can.
Avoid bay's that are open to N/NE in the northern part and NE/E in the southern part.

PS for "Moseriw":
I see you hv a vagabond.
Yea bought it for a reasonable price and working on it to make it better than your Jeanneau 43 DS which in spite ot the super quality of the Jeanneau's is a BIG project. I doubled up the price I bought the V47

About solo sailing. I love ketches as the sail handling is a lot easier than on a sloop. Not so much m² to handle. With mizzen and genny or staysail I can manoever the boat without touching the helm. And with Vagabonds: in almost any situation when I have to reef I will have a coffee or two before and then I reduce thegear comfortably. On the other hand - V47 does not more than 8 knots at all.

[GarthGregory]

Hi Ken, I sailed Croatia for 6 years - There are over 1000 islands and are very beautiful - If you need details , please mail me and I will make up a list . As a thought , I have always googled the individual villages , it gives one a fair idea of what to expect - just to confirm that they do appeal personally .
regards Garth Gregory

[Polux]

Originally Posted by athene

It's very unlikely you'll be approached by 'scammers'; it's never happened to us though there have been a couple of reports. Sometimes a local authority tries to start charging but subsequently gets slapped down by the ministry, and this has happened in a couple of bays. If the anchorage is not listed in the official ministry list of concessions (see the Wiki), then you're within your rights to refuse any attempt at charging......
By and large, we've found Croatia less subject to scams than several other Med countries - it's just that the price of better organisation is higher charges.

GORDON KNIGHT

Cruised there for 3 seasons and I don't have that idea. All the places I have been on a buoy (except restaurants) a receipt has been provided. Yes they are organized to have a profit with tourism but they provide a service too.

The only non official anchorage where I could be free at anchor that I had paid something was in one where a teenager in a small rowing boat come to me asking if I wanted to dispose of garbage and If I wanted fresh bread in the morning. He made very clear that it was a free anchorage.

The kid said I would paid whatever I find right for the service and I gave him 10 euros for taking the garbage out and bring me some bread in the morning.

He had done so for several boats on the anchorage so at the end of the day he had earned for some hours of work a nice amount of money and had provided a nice service, since the next place where we can buy food was km away.

What I find is that you will find on Croatia a lot more people willing to work for some money than in Greece. I had been in fantastic places in Greece, with nice medieval towns and no way of anchoring safely (even if they were protected) because the bottom was rock. If those places were in Croatia there would be a guy there that would provide well fixed buoys, providing a useful service.